Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps The Mind-Boggling Magic of Math with Adam Spencer
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Mar 16, 2026 Adam Spencer, maths communicator and former radio host, brings playful wonder to big mathematical ideas. He explores infinity and its different sizes, prime-number hunts and Mersenne mysteries, Monty Hall’s counterintuitive switch, fractals and paradoxes, and how AI might augment mathematical discovery. Short, curious, and delightfully brain-tickling.
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Optimise Small Tasks To Save Time
- Use optimisation thinking for everyday tasks to save time, like minimizing queue waits at the supermarket.
- Adam times trolley completion and queue position to reduce overall waiting for both partners.
Relativity Matters For Everyday Tech
- Mathematics underpins technologies like GPS because relativity changes satellite time relative to Earth.
- Adam explains Einstein's thought experiments: moving clocks tick differently, measurably affecting satellite positioning.
Math Predicted Gravitational Waves Before Detection
- Gravitational waves predicted by general relativity were measured a century later by LIGO.
- LIGO detects tiny differences in light path lengths, measurable to the width of a hydrogen atom.